Ghost Release: 4.44.0

TL;DR

Ghost v4.44.0: Multiple Newsletters Support & MRR Tracking Improvements

This release introduces multiple newsletters functionality, allowing site owners to create and manage different newsletters for their audience. Members can now select which newsletters they want to subscribe to during signup. The release also includes significant improvements to MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) tracking with better support for subscription offers and cancellations. Several bug fixes are included, notably resolving a false positive error with the {{tiers}} helper in themes.

Highlight of the Release

• Multiple newsletters support allowing site owners to create different newsletters for their audience
• Members can now select newsletter preferences during signup
• Improved MRR tracking with support for subscription offers and cancellations
• Fixed false positive fatal error for {{tiers}} helper when used with parameters
• Added filtering for members API based on newsletter subscriptions

Migration Guide

Migration Notes for Multiple Newsletters

If you're using the Ghost API to manage members or newsletters, note the following changes:

1. The members admin API now supports filtering members by newsletter slug
2. When sending a post via the API, you can now specify a newsletter_id query parameter to target a specific newsletter
3. If you're programmatically creating members, you'll need to update your code to handle newsletter preferences

MRR Tracking Changes

The MRR calculation has been updated to better handle offers and cancellations. This is primarily an internal change, but if you're using custom analytics that rely on MRR data, you may notice differences in the reported values, especially for subscriptions with "forever" duration offers.

Upgrade Recommendations

This is a recommended upgrade for all Ghost users, especially those who want to take advantage of the new multiple newsletters feature or need improved MRR tracking.

The upgrade process should be straightforward with no breaking changes. As always, it's recommended to:

1. Back up your Ghost installation before upgrading
2. Test the upgrade in a staging environment if possible
3. Follow the standard Ghost upgrade process

If you're using custom themes, the fix for the {{tiers}} helper should resolve any false positive errors you may have encountered.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed false positive fatal error for {{tiers}} helper when used with parameters in themes
• Fixed newsletter schema column validation that was using incorrect syntax for isIn validations
• Fixed the newsletters API permissions that were missing in the fixture file
• Fixed close button on "unsaved changes" modal not always behaving like "Stay" button
• Fixed verification trigger for imports by testing all imports in the last 30 days

New Features

Multiple Newsletters

• Added support for creating and managing multiple newsletters
• Members can now select which newsletters to subscribe to during signup
• Added intermediary newsletter preference selection page to Portal signup flows
• Default newsletter is automatically created and renamed to match site title during setup
• Added filtering for members API on newsletter subscriptions to target specific newsletters

MRR Tracking Improvements

• Added MRR column to subscriptions table for better revenue tracking
• Added support for tracking MRR changes from cancellations and expirations
• Improved calculation of MRR deltas to include "forever" duration offers
• Added offer_id column to subscriptions for reliable tracking of active offers

Security Updates

No security fixes were included in this release.

Performance Improvements

• Simplified MRR calculation to make it easier to update and maintain
• Improved data structure for newsletter subscriptions to optimize filtering
• Better organization of code with route-settings tests moved to their own folder
• Removed unnecessary models dependency from Webhook Service test for simpler mocks

Impact Summary

Ghost v4.44.0 introduces significant enhancements to newsletter management with the addition of multiple newsletters support. This feature allows site owners to create different newsletters for different audience segments, giving members the ability to choose which content they want to receive. The improved MRR tracking provides better insights into subscription revenue, especially for subscriptions with offers.

For site owners, this release offers more flexibility in content distribution and member management. The ability to target specific newsletters when sending posts means more personalized content delivery to subscribers. Members benefit from having more control over what content they receive through newsletter preferences during signup.

Theme developers will appreciate the fix for the false positive error with the {{tiers}} helper, ensuring themes using this helper with parameters will pass validation checks. For developers working with the Ghost API, new endpoints and parameters have been added to support the multiple newsletters functionality.

Overall, this release enhances Ghost's capabilities as a membership and newsletter platform while fixing several bugs and improving performance.

Full Release Notes